[Production Note]
95 BPM — boom-bap kick, crisp snare, modern trap hi-hats. Call-and-response ad-libs, vocal tag: “Say what?” / “We own it.”
[Intro]
Yeah — yeah
Say what? (We own it) — uh
Lights low, streets glow, let it ride
[Verse 1]
Started in a sleeping bag on a Crosstown bench, breathin' cold fog
Leather jacket thinned, pockets pinched, countin' pennies for the next dogged jog
Mixtapes in a shoebox, corner rain folded beats into wet paper dreams
Hustle taught the grammar: rewrite the scene, stitch up seams with stubborn steam
Chains heavy, but our will grows stronger, heart armor, scarred but smarter
Late-night hustles, cashin' lessons, every loss turned into starter
I spat rhymes in subway tunnels, echo turned to applause at dawn
Turned that subway sleep to stage sleep — now the stage is where we belong
[Pre-Chorus]
Short breath, steady step — keep it tight
One move, one night — prepare to fight
Hold fast, hold light — take the flight
(We own it) — hold on to that line
[Chorus — Hook]
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night (say what?)
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night
[Ad-libs/Call-and-Response]
(We own it!) — Hey!
(We own it!) — Say what?
[Verse 2]
Mama patchin' sleeves at midnight, sewing hope into a Tuesday coat
Kitchen light low, prayer low, whispered blessing for my broke throat
I remember an open-mic where I spit truth, one kid threw a lighter up
Crowd rumble, heartbeat stumble — first time the room lighted us up
Check stub came back empty, landlord at the door with hands that knock loud
But I flipped a verse into a verse-verse victory, sold the first thousand
Now it's studio glass, runnin' with mics, neon reflections in the booth
From hand-to-mouth to hand-to-mic — my hunger found the truth
[Pre-Chorus]
Short breath, steady step — keep it tight
One move, one night — prepare to fight
Hold fast, hold light — take the flight
(We own it) — keep that line
[Chorus — Hook]
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night (say what?)
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night
[Bridge — Vulnerability / Turning Point]
There were nights I questioned every promise, every plan I'd ever made
Counting echoes in an empty room, wondering if the colors fade
Lost friends, lost time, lost coins beneath the couch of yesterday
But when the lights flicker, that's when I learn to keep the dark at bay
Breathe in pain, breathe out purpose — this is where the real ones grow
When you stand alone and still, that's the moment you show
[Breakdown — Short Vocal Tag]
Say what? (We own it)
Yeah — yeah (We own it)
[Final Chorus — Big, Anthemic]
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night (we own it)
Rise and grind — we own the night
[Outro — Resolution]
From wet mixtapes to studio shapes, from crosstown bench to hea
